NOTES.

ON PART I.

NOTE a, p. 10.

And such thy strength-inspiring aid that bore

The hardy Byron to his native shore.

THE following picture of his own distress, given by

BYRON in his simple and interesting narrative, justifies the

description in page 10.

After relating the barbarity of the Indian cacique to his child, he proceeds thus." A day or two after we put to 66 sea again, and crossed the great bay I mentioned we had "been at the bottom of when we first hauled away to the

"westward. The land here was very low and sandy, and ·

"something like the mouth of a river, which discharged it"self into the sea, and which had been taken no notice of "by us before, as it was so shallow that the Indians were "obliged to take every thing out of their canoes, and carry "it over land. We rowed up the river four or five leagues, "and then took into a branch of it that ran first to the "eastward, and then to the northward: here it became "much narrower, and the stream excessively rapid, so "that we gained but little way, though we wrought very "hard. At night we landed upon its banks, and had a "most uncomfortable lodging, it being a perfect swamp; "and we had nothing to cover us, though it rained exces"sively. The Indians were little better off than we, as "there was no wood here to make their wigwams; so that "all they could do was to prop up the bark, which they

carry in the bottom of their canoes, and shelter them"selves as well as they could to the leeward of it. Know❝ing the difficulties they had to encounter here, they had

"provided themselves with some seal; but we had not a "morsel to eat, after the heavy fatigues of the day, ex❝cepting a sort of root we saw the Indians make use of, "which was very disagreeable to the taste. We laboured "all next day against the stream, and fared as we had "done the day before. The next day brought us to the "carrying place. Here was plenty of wood, but nothing "to be got for sustenance. We passed this night as we had 66 frequently done, under a tree; but what we suffered at "this time is not easy to be expressed. I had been three "days at the oar, without any kind of nourishment except "the wretched root above mentioned. I had no shirt, for "it had rotted off by bits. All my clothes consisted of a "short grieko (something like a bear-skin), a piece of red "cloth which had once been a waistcoat, and a ragged pair "of trowsers, without shoes or stockings."

NOTE b, p. 11.

-a Briton and a friend.

Don Patricio Gedd, a Scotch physician in one of the Spanish settlements, hospitably relieved Byron and his wretched associates, of which the commodore speaks in the warmest terms of gratitude,

NOTE c, p. 12.

Or yield the lyre of Heav'n another string.

The seven strings of Apollo's harp were the symbolical representation of the seven planets. Herschel, by discovering an eighth, might be said to add another string to the instrument.

NOTE d, p. 12.

The Swedish sage.

Linnæus.

NOTE e, p. 14.

Deep from his vaults, the Loxian murmurs flow.

Loxias is a name frequently given to Apollo by Greek writers: it is met with more than once in the Chophora

Among the negroes of the West Indies, Obi, or Obiah,

is the name of a magical power, which is believed by them

to affect the object of its malignity with dismal calamities.